Dare You to Move
by Vivere Sine Timore
Summary: It's Natara's wedding day, and Mal can't be more miserable. But he can't seem to bring himself to stop the wedding. Inspired mostly by Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move". ONESHOT


_I seem to have an excess of motivation._

_Alright, so this is partially inspired by the song "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot and partially inspired by Train's "Save Me San Francisco" music video. (The name of the song is purely coincidence.) So anyway I had like this whole music video for Dare You to Move with the CoD characters, but since I can't really do that on here, I'm gonna try something new. Tell me if it's confusing or if it worked or if it was just whatever._

_Italics for Natara  
_**Bold for Mal**

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_This was it._

_That was all she could think as she secured the last bobby pin in her hair. Everything was perfect and was going according to plan. She had her something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Everything was set to happen perfectly._

_ This was it._

**Today was the day everything changed.**

**He was all dressed up for her wedding, but he couldn't bring himself to move from where he sat on the floor. He knew that even if he left now, he would be ten minutes late for the ceremony.**

**Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to be there today. He knew she would be looking for him and he knew he should go. But she was asking him to watch as she married someone else, and that was almost too much to ask. He knew he would be able to endure it, he just didn't want to.**

**He leaned his head against the wall and sighed. He had no idea what to do.**

_Neha appeared at her door, knocking softly before entering. The sisters smiled at each other before hugging._

_"Time to go." She took a breath to calm her nerves, smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress and nodded. She linked her pinky with Neha's the bond they'd often shared as young girls. It meant 'I'm here for you.' It meant 'Good luck.'_

_It meant 'Always.'_

**He knew he was being stupid. He should just suck it up and be there for her today. Today was the biggest day of her life, the most important. She'd been looking forward to it her entire life. Every girl looked forward to her wedding. He just wished it was him she was marrying.**

**He pushed his hair out of his eyes, sighing, only for it to fall right back where it had been. He was pathetic. Pining away for a married woman. (Almost married, his mind nagged.) In his mind he knew that if he wanted her so bad he should do something about it. Stop the wedding, profess his undying love for her, tackle the groom, anything.**

**But in his heart he knew that if he truly loved her, he would let her be happy.**

_Sh could see everyone watching the flower girl and the bridesmaids. Her heart seemed to jump up into her throat and start beating in double time._**  
**

_This was it._

_She was about to become a 'we'. She was getting married today. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe the day was finally here. After all those months of planning, it was finally here. It was finally happening._

_Neha gave her pinky a small squeeze before she let go and began her walk down the aisle. The doors to the chapel closed, and her father appeared beside her._

_"You look beautiful," he said, lowering her veil over her face. She smiled at him and hugged him._

_"I love you," she whispered. They pulled away and she looped her arm through his. Inside the chapel, she heard the wedding march start, and the doors slowly creaked open._

**He looked at his watch. The wedding must be starting right now. He knew he would be disappointing her by not being there, but he knew he just wouldn't be able to sit there and watch. It would be too painful, too heartbreaking. He would do something stupid, or worse.**_  
_

**His phone buzzed beside him with a text from Blaise. 'Where are you?' it read. He sighed again (it seemed he was doing a lot of that these days) and lowered his phone back to the ground. He knew Blaise wanted him to stop the wedding. She'd cornered him by the water cooler and told him he needed to tell her how he felt. He'd refused.**

**Who was he to ruin her happiness?**

_He wasn't there._

_A quick glance confirmed it. A hundred people were staring at her, but he wasn't. He was missing, and all of a sudden her excitement evaporated. She wanted him to be there. She wanted him to smile at her and make goofy faces at her while Oscar recited his vows. She wanted him to dance with her at the reception. She wanted her best friend in the world to be there for her wedding._

_But he wasn't._

**'You need to get here NOW.' He supposed Blaise was right. He supposed it would be easy to get up, get there and stop the wedding. He supposed it would be easy for him to explain why it needed to stop. It was the consequences after that stopped him. Natara loved Oscar, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, and if he ruined her wedding, she would never forgive him.**

**'If you don't stop the wedding, then I will.' He rolled his eyes. He had no doubt Blaise would do it. She was the most headstrong person he'd ever met in his life, and he knew she only wanted the best for him. Come what may and hell to pay. They'd said that so many times through college and the police academy. (Whenever they said it, though, whatever they did usually ended with them in major trouble.)**

**Come what may and hell to pay.**

**He stood.**

_Her father placed her hand in Oscar's and then backed away. Oscar grinned at her, and together they walked up to the altar. The priest began to talk, though Natara didn't listen. She was pretty sure Oscar wasn't either._

_This was it._

_This was the end of one part of her life and the beginning of another. Another where she would be a wife and, eventually, a mother. Everything would be different, now. It would never be how it was again. Sure, she would be the same person, and so would he. Everyone would be who they were. But she wouldn't go home after a long day to an empty hotel room. She would go home to an apartment, or a house. She would be going home to a husband and kids. A family of her own._

_This was it._

**He knew he was running out of time. He knew the wedding was almost over. And with all the traffic, he knew he would be too late. Swearing to himself, he pulled the car over to the curb, opened the door and ran.**

**His feet pounded against the pavement, and he couldn't help but laugh at how cliché everything was. The woman he loved marrying another man, him running to stop her. It was a scene out of a storybook or a music video. He'd never imagined his life would come to this.**

**But she was worth it. She was worth everything.**

**But he was running out of time and he knew it.**

_Everything was happening fast. Too fast._

_Before she knew it, they were lighting the candle together. The rings were presented, and Oscar was saying his vows. Her heart pounded in her ears, and though she tried to listen to what he was saying, she couldn't focus. Then it was her turn, reciting them perfectly._**  
**

_Oscar wore a double-wide grin and she smiled back. She knew this was what she wanted. She knew it would make him happy._

_The ring was slipped onto her finger, and in return she placed the other ring on his finger. They joined hands and faced each other._

_This was it._

_Oscar lifter the veil up and away from her face._

_"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."_

_She heard a purse being dropped and the rustle of fabric as someone stood up._

_And then the chapel doors banged open._

**"Wait!" he yelled as he threw the doors open and ran down the aisle. "Stop!"**

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Edit: Okay guys, so so far I've gotten a few reviews saying stuff like "when's the next chapter coming?" or "I so want to see the next chapter!" This is a one shot, just for the record. I meant to end it like that.


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